A portrait of John Grierson, the first Canadian Government Film Commissioner and founder of the National Film Board in 1939. Interweaving archival footage, interviews with people who knew him and footage of Grierson himself, this film is a sensitive and informative portrait of a dynamic man of vision. Grierson believed that the filmmaker had a social responsibility, and that film could help a society realize democratic ideals. His absolute faith in the value of capturing the drama of everyday life was to influence generations of filmmakers all over the world. In fact, he coined the term 'documentary film'.
Michael Kane
as Narrator (voice)
John Grierson
as Self (archive footage)
Norman McLaren
as Self (archive footage)
Sydney Newman
as Self
Basil Wright
as Self
Lorne Greene
as Self
Woodrow Wilson
as Self (archive footage)
Roberto Rossellini
as Self
Joseph McCarthy
as Self (archive footage)
Joris Ivens
as Self
Indira Gandhi
as Self
Margaret Grierson
as Self
